Let’s start off with a quick Olympics quiz, shall we?… just don’t think too long and hard on these; see if you know them off the tip of your brain!
- What six teams will be in the Tokyo Olympic Summer Games this year?
- How many months away are the Games?
- What sport kicks off the Olympics this year in which 339 events will be contested?
Scroll down below to see the answers, but let’s just start off (spoiler alert!) with highlighting two teams who’ve already announced that their training camps prepping for the Olympics begins soon.
Team USA got a jump on the other five countries when it started its training camp on January 4, 2021 in Lakeland, Florida and have held it through today.
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Mexican National Softball Team to open Olympic year with training camp in California
Originally published Jan 12, 2021 on WBSC.org
“We are going to have a training camp with some practice games and tryouts, because it’s still a preliminary roster,” said Carmen Alanis, Mexican Softball Federation CEO.
The Mexican Olympic Softball Team will open its preparation for the Tokyo Olympics with a training camp in California, USA. According to the Mexican Olympic Committee, the national team will also tour Australia in February.
Se prepara softbol femenil para iniciar concentraciones en Estados Unidos con la mira puesta en #Tokyo2020
Lee más 👉 https://t.co/8ikoXFdRXY pic.twitter.com/6HXqw4pz72— Comité Olímpico Mexicano (@COM_Mexico) January 5, 2021
“We are going to have a training camp with some practice games and tryouts, because it’s still a preliminary roster,” said Carmen Alanis, Mexican Softball Federation (FMS – Federacion Mexicana de Softbol) CEO. “It will be held in California, but first we must confirm the field because of the global pandemic.” She also said that the team will face US professional teams and universities in the training process.
The players have been training at home over the past months, sending their online reports to the coaching staff. “There is a follow-up both with a physical trainer and the coaches,” added Alanis.
Mexico goes to Tokyo!!! 🇲🇽 🇲🇽 🇲🇽#RoadToTokyo #Softball pic.twitter.com/4IY2np8HHj
— WBSC #WorldSoftballDay 🥎 (@WBSCsoftball) August 31, 2019
Mexico, currently ranked fifth in the WBSC Women’s Softball World Rankings, is one of six teams to have qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games softball competition, joining Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan and USA in the historic event. Mexico went undefeated to win the WBSC Americas Softball Olympic Qualifier in 2019, becoming the fourth qualified nation for Tokyo.
Back in December, the team received the Mexican National Sports Award, the highest sports honour in the country, for their historic qualification for the Olympic Games.
Mexico will open the Olympic softball competition on 21 July against Canada at Fukushima Azuma Stadium, two days before the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games.
BREAKING: New Olympic softball schedule announced for #Tokyo2020 Olympic Games!!
🥎Softball will be the first sport played at #Tokyo2020 🥳
📰 https://t.co/sSuBd2hkcS pic.twitter.com/nQcTNvByVX
— WBSC ⚾🥎 (@WBSC) July 17, 2020
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Italian Olympic Softball Team to open training camp on 21 January with six months to go to Tokyo Games
Originally published Jan. 14, 2021 on WBSC.org
Head Coach Enrico Obletter will work with an expanded roster of 22 athletes.
The Italian Women’s National Softball Team will open their first training camp of the year next week, marking six months to go to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The athletes will work with the full staff from 21 to 30 January 2021 in two different locations. The activities will begin at the Centro di Preparazione Olimpica “Giulio Onesti” (“Giulio Onesti” Olympic Preparation Center) in Rome, and will continue with on field training sessions in Pescara.
From 21-24 January, the players will carry out physical tests with the sports science department of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI). From 24 January, the team will move to Pescara to carry out the subsequent training sessions and prepare step by step for the first official commitments of the year.
You can find the 22-athlete roster on the Italian Baseball Softball Federation (FIBS – Federazione Italiana Baseball Softball) website.
🇮🇹 🇮🇹 🇮🇹Congratulations Italy!!!#RoadtoTokyo https://t.co/f5tNt5p4dI
— WBSC #WorldSoftballDay 🥎 (@WBSCsoftball) July 27, 2019
The last gathering of the Italian team was held in Rome in December at “Giulio Onesti” Olympic Preparation Center.
“Rome provided us with a new opportunity to meet as a team after the training camp we had in October in Pescara. It also confirmed the physical strength of the players individually,” said Roberta Soldi, FIBS Vice President and head of the Italian softball program. “The overall response and progress were very good, despite the fact that it was obviously more difficult to train without the encouragement and cheering of teammates in the gym and weight room.
“Under the direction of head coach Obletter, the players had the chance to work on technical theory, analyze videos of past games as well as get a glimpse of the pitchers they will face in the Tokyo Olympics.”
Soldi also confirmed that Italy will travel to Australia to play the Australia Pacific Cup in March (8-11).
The Italian National Softball Team earned a ticket to their third Olympic Games, after having gone undefeated in the WBSC Softball Europe/Africa Olympic Qualifier in Utrecht, Netherlands, last July.
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Answers to the questions:
1) What six teams will be in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games to be played this summer?
Answer: Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Mexico and USA
2) How many months away are the Games?
Answer: 6 months, give or take a few days. The Olympic Games start on July 21, 2021.
3) What sport kicks off the Olympic Games?
Answer: That would be softball! As was announced in July 2020, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games kickoff on Wednesday July 21, 2021, at Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium with the Gold Medal Game scheduled for July 27 at Yokohama Baseball Stadium.
